NEWS OF THE DAY
_1 New president: Liberia’s National Election Commission declared George Weah president-elect and Jewel Howard-Taylor vice president-elect following a Dec. 26 runoff election. Vice President Joseph Boakai conceded on Friday, congratulating the ex-soccer star. With more than 98 percent of votes counted, Weah received 61.5 percent of the ballots while Boakai received 38.5 percent. Weah is expected to take office in January.
_2 Missile defense: Turkey finalized a deal with Moscow for the purchase of Russia’s S-400 antimissile system, Turkish defense officials announced Friday, despite concerns voiced by some of the NATO member’s allies. The deal, which would make Turkey the first member of the military alliance to own Russia’s most advanced air defense system, comes amid strengthening ties between Turkey and Russia, and Ankara’s deteriorating relations with the United States and other western countries. Turkey will buy at least one S-400 surface-to-air missile battery with the option of procuring a second battery. The delivery of the first battery is scheduled for 2020.
_3 Mayor assassinated: A masked gunman assassinated the mayor of a town in the southern Mexico state of Guerrero. State police identified the victim as Arturo Gomez Perez, mayor of Petatlan. Police officials said Friday that the lone gunman hit Gomez Perez with three bullets as he ate in a restaurant. Guerrero was one of the most violent states in Mexico in the first 11 months of 2017, with a homicide rate of 58.6 per 100,000 people. At least 54 mayors or mayors-elect have been killed in Mexico since 2006, often by drug gangs or corrupt police.
_4 Explosive attack: The mayor of a small city in northern Colombia says 31 people were wounded when an explosive device was thrown into a crowded nightclub. Caucasia Mayor Oscar Anibal Suarez says three women were seriously injured in the predawn attack Friday at the Bora Bora nightclub. About 70 people were at the club when the device was thrown from a motorcycle and set off a stampede among panicked club patrons. The mayor says police arrested a man and woman as suspects. He says the attack appears to stem from a battle among local drug gangs for control of the city north of Medellin.
_5 Iran protests: Protests over the Iranian government’s handling of the economy spread to several cities Friday, including Tehran, in what appeared to be a sign of unrest. President Hassan Rouhani began his second term in August after winning re-election on promises to revitalize an economy hurt by sanctions. Although foreign investment is rising, the country continues to survive mainly on oil sales. Youth unemployment stands at more than 40 percent, sluggish state-owned enterprises control significant sectors of the economy, and U.S. sanctions prevent most international banks from providing financing or credit to Iran. Unilateral U.S. sanctions on doing financial transactions with Iran remain in place. _6 ‘Palestine’ removed: Israel’s sports minister says she got the words “Palestine occupied territory” removed from an NBA website. Miri Regev, in her letter to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, called Palestine “an imaginary state.” She thanked Silver on Friday for removing the language, adding “Israel’s lands are not occupied; therefore what was written was false and should have been deleted.”